Outputs (50)

Cultural niche construction with application to fertility control: A model for education and social transmission of contraceptive use (2023)
Journal Article

The evolution of a cultural trait may be affected by niche construction, or changes in the selective environment of that trait due to the inheritance of other cultural traits that make up a cultural background. This study investigates the evolution o... Read More about Cultural niche construction with application to fertility control: A model for education and social transmission of contraceptive use.

Between-group variation in production of pant-grunt vocalizations by wild bonobos (Pan paniscus) (2023)
Journal Article

The potential for aggression is inherent in social interaction, and strategies to reduce the costs of aggression are ubiquitous among group-living animals. One strategy employed by lower-ranking individuals in a variety of species is the production o... Read More about Between-group variation in production of pant-grunt vocalizations by wild bonobos (Pan paniscus).

Simulation and social network analysis provide insight into the acquisition of tool behaviour in hybrid macaques (2023)
Journal Article

The pathways through which primates acquire skills are a central focus of cultural evolution studies. The roles of social and genetic inheritance processes in skill acquisition are often confounded by environmental factors. Hybrid macaques from Koram... Read More about Simulation and social network analysis provide insight into the acquisition of tool behaviour in hybrid macaques.

The social learning and development of intra-and inter-ethnic sharing norms in the Congo Basin: A registered report protocol (2022)
Journal Article

Compared to other species, the extent of human cooperation is unparalleled. Such cooperation is coordinated between community members via social norms. Developmental research has demonstrated that very young children are sensitive to social norms, an... Read More about The social learning and development of intra-and inter-ethnic sharing norms in the Congo Basin: A registered report protocol.

Beyond collective intelligence: Collective adaptation (2023)
Journal Article

We develop a conceptual framework for studying collective adaptation in complex socio-cognitive systems, driven by dynamic interactions of social integration strategies, social environments and problem structures. Going beyond searching for ‘intellig... Read More about Beyond collective intelligence: Collective adaptation.

Estimating mesocarnivore abundance on commercial farmland using distance sampling with camera traps (2023)
Journal Article

1. Mesocarnivores are of particular interest in wildlife management. Their adaptability makes them a focus of public attention globally, as negative interactions with people occur regularly, but their importance to wider ecosystem function is increas... Read More about Estimating mesocarnivore abundance on commercial farmland using distance sampling with camera traps.

Global drivers of variation in cup nest size in passerine birds (2022)
Journal Article

The size of a bird's nest can play a key role in ensuring reproductive success and is determined by a variety of factors. The primary function of the nest is to protect offspring from the environment and predators. Field studies in a number of passer... Read More about Global drivers of variation in cup nest size in passerine birds.

The influence of task difficulty, social tolerance and model success on social learning in Barbary macaques (2023)
Journal Article

Despite playing a pivotal role in the inception of animal culture studies, macaque social learning is surprisingly understudied. Social learning is important to survival and influenced by dominance and affiliation in social animals. Individuals gener... Read More about The influence of task difficulty, social tolerance and model success on social learning in Barbary macaques.

Toys as Teachers: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Object Use and Enskillment in Hunter--Gatherer Societies (2022)
Journal Article

Studies of cultural transmission—whether approached by archaeological or ethnographic means—have made great strides in identifying formal teaching and learning arrangements, which in turn can be closely aligned with models of social learning. While n... Read More about Toys as Teachers: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Object Use and Enskillment in Hunter--Gatherer Societies.

Convergent evolution of elaborate nests as structural defences in birds (2022)
Journal Article

The pendent nests of some weaverbird and icterid species are among the most complex structures built by any animal, but why they have evolved remains to be explained. The precarious attachments and extended entrance tunnels characteristic of these ne... Read More about Convergent evolution of elaborate nests as structural defences in birds.

Chimpanzee communities differ in their inter- and intrasexual social relationships (2023)
Journal Article

Male and female human social bonding strategies are culturally shaped, in addition to being genetically rooted. Investigating nonhuman primate bonding strategies across sex groups allows researchers to assess whether, as with humans, they are shaped... Read More about Chimpanzee communities differ in their inter- and intrasexual social relationships.

Culture is an optometrist: Cultural contexts adjust the prescription of social learning bifocals (2022)
Journal Article

The nature of third‐millennium settlement: The example of al‐Tikha (Rustaq) an Umm an‐Nar site on the Batinah coast of Oman (2022)
Journal Article

al-Tikha is a mid to large Umm an-Nar (c. 2700–2000 BC) settlement situated near Rustaq at the back of the Southern Batinah coastal plain in the Sultanate of Oman that was discovered (or rediscovered) in 2014. The site is unique because its layout an... Read More about The nature of third‐millennium settlement: The example of al‐Tikha (Rustaq) an Umm an‐Nar site on the Batinah coast of Oman.

Model Selection in Occupancy Models: Inference versus Prediction (2023)
Journal Article

Occupancy models are a vital tool for ecologists studying the patterns and drivers of species occurrence, but their use often involves selecting among models with different sets of occupancy and detection covariates. The information-theoretic approac... Read More about Model Selection in Occupancy Models: Inference versus Prediction.

A systematic review of sex differences in rough and tumble play across non-human mammals (2022)
Journal Article

It is widely believed that juvenile male mammals typically engage in higher rates of rough and tumble play (RTP) than do females, in preparation for adult roles involving intense physical competition between males. The consistency of this sex differe... Read More about A systematic review of sex differences in rough and tumble play across non-human mammals.

(Super-)cultural clustering explains gender differences too (2022)
Journal Article

The target paper shows how cultural adaptations to ecological problems can underpin “paradoxical” patterns of phenotypic variation. We argue: (1) Gendered social learning is a cultural adaptation to an ecological problem. (2) In evolutionarily novel... Read More about (Super-)cultural clustering explains gender differences too.

Peer learning and cultural evolution (2023)
Journal Article

In this article, we integrate cultural evolutionary theory with empirical research from developmental psychology, cultural anthropology, and primatology to explore the role of peer learning in the development of complex instrumental skills and behavi... Read More about Peer learning and cultural evolution.

Religious nationalism, strategic detachment, and the politics of vernacular humanitarianism in post-war Sri Lanka (2022)
Journal Article

Kin, friends, philanthronationalists: “Relations” as a modality of colonial and post-colonial charity in Sri Lanka (2022)
Journal Article

Through an historical ethnographic analysis of Sri Lanka’s oldest charity, the Colombo Friend-in-Need Society, this article explores changing modalities of humanitarian “relations” in colonial and post-colonial contexts. For two hundred years, “the S... Read More about Kin, friends, philanthronationalists: “Relations” as a modality of colonial and post-colonial charity in Sri Lanka.

Does Group Contact Shape Styles of Pictorial Representation? A Case Study of Australian Rock Art (2022)
Journal Article

Image-making is a nearly universal human behavior, yet the visual strategies and conventions to represent things in pictures vary greatly over time and space. In particular, pictorial styles can differ in their degree of figurativeness, varying from... Read More about Does Group Contact Shape Styles of Pictorial Representation? A Case Study of Australian Rock Art.